Deep Run at the WSOP 2024: Chasing the Bracelet with 5,300 Players in the Way
You can watch the full vlog from this tournament run right here on my YouTube channel. It was one of the most intense and emotional deep runs I’ve had in recent memory, and I documented the whole journey, from start to finish.
Let’s talk about what it feels like to run deep in a WSOP event, playing on four hours of sleep, surviving massive flips, and coming inches away from a real shot at $290,000 and the coveted gold bracelet.
A Dream Worth Chasing
The $600 Deepstack at the WSOP 2024 drew over 5,300 players. By Day 2, I had bagged 67,000 chips, was running on fumes and coffee, and yet somehow, I felt laser-focused. We were deep in the money with 283 players left. It was one of those days where the adrenaline alone was enough to carry me.
This bracelet wasn’t just another goal on my list, it was the bucket-list goal. The one I’ve visualized for years. I talk a lot about manifestation and mindset in my content and courses, and I genuinely believe that seeing it, feeling it, and believing it before it happens is a powerful tool in poker, and in life.
Holding My Own and Building a Stack
As the field thinned and the blinds soared, I found myself navigating some really high-pressure spots. At one point, I built my stack up to 1.25 million chips. I was right in the middle of the pack and feeling great about my reads and decision-making.
There’s something uniquely intense about playing poker at this stage of a tournament. The big blind was 50,000, and average stacks were hovering around 20 bigs. It becomes a push-or-fold game. These moments test not just your poker knowledge but your mental strength.
Strategy Talk: Understanding When ICM Doesn’t Matter
At that stage of the tournament, the pay jumps were minimal, and that meant there weren’t any significant ICM implications yet. For those of you who aren’t familiar with ICM (Independent Chip Model), it’s a critical part of tournament poker strategy. When payouts start to matter and stacks get shallow, understanding ICM pressure can make or break your deep runs.
If you’re looking to really understand how ICM works, and how to use it to your advantage, check out my Poker Accelerator course. I’ve recently added new lessons covering exactly these types of situations.
The Brutal Finish
Tournament poker can be cruel. One minute you’re stacking chips, the next you’re walking to the payout desk wondering what just happened.
In the span of five hands, I ran into pocket Aces three separate times. That’s not an exaggeration. And then I busted with Ace-Queen versus pocket Tens in a standard flip. Just like that, it was over. I finished in 128th place for $2,500, not a bad ROI on a $600 buy-in, but obviously short of the dream ending I’d imagined.
Still, I walked away proud of how I played. The hands I shoved with were correct. The folds I made were disciplined. And most of all, I stayed mentally strong in one of the toughest fields of the year.
Want to Improve Your Tournament Game?
If you want to level up your tournament strategy, understand the nuances of spots like these, and develop the mindset of a winning player, I highly recommend checking out The Poker Accelerator course.
Not sure if The Poker Accelerator is for you? Check out the FREE Preview to get a glimpse of what the course has to offer!
Final Thoughts
Every deep run teaches you something. This one taught me how to stay present, even through frustration. How to trust my instincts, even after a beat. And how to walk away knowing I gave it everything I had.
Thanks so much for being part of this journey with me. Your support truly means the world. If you haven’t already, check out the full vlog on my YouTube channel, and feel free to leave a comment or share your own deep run story. I’d love to hear it.
See you at the next one!
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